The Miami Marlins have been one of baseball’s most pleasant surprises in 2026, and after years of putting together an impressive young core, the organization are finally starting to see results on the field, even in one of the toughest divisions in baseball.
Through their first 94 games this season, the Marlins are sitting at 52-42, putting them in a tie for second in the National League East, and that gives them some major decisions to make ahead of the trade deadline. Coming into the year, many saw some of their veterans as players that could net the Marlins huge returns, but now, a new report has revealed that one of their most established stars isn’t going anywhere at the upcoming trade deadline.
Marlins set to Hold Onto Sandy Alcantara Through the Trade Deadline
GettySandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins.
One of those players is veteran starter Sandy Alcantara, who has been a very valuable pitcher for the Marlins over his eight seasons with the team, but given the pitching need of many World Series contenders, the overwhelming expectation was that he would be moved. Now, Ken Rosenthal with The Athletic has revealed the opposite, reporting that not only will the Marlins keep the 30-year-old veteran, but they will strategically look to add to this young, ascending roster in the coming weeks.
While nobody quite saw the Marlins being this good coming into the year, the team clearly knew they could compete, and with a steady starting rotation led by Alcantara, to keep him it means they believe they could compete when the MLB Playoffs roll around.
Can the Marlins Compete in the MLB Playoffs?
On paper, the Marlins have been as good as anyone in the National League this season as they sit 10 games over .500, with the team currently holding a three game lead in the final Wild Card spot, tied for second in the standings with the Philadelphia Phillies. To the surprise of many, the Marlins rank 10th in baseball this year in both runs scored and team ERA, and while they’ve relied upon a very young core to this point, clearly they’ve got the right pieces in position, and with Alcantara being one of three front line starters for this team, they matchup well against most teams in the National League.
The Major League Baseball season is a long one however, built that way to weed out the teams that can genuinely compete from the ones that can simply get hot for a few weeks, but after years of failure, this mindset ahead of the deadline for Miami shows that they’re finally a team that believes they can compete over the long season.
Obviously, their chances at genuine contention depend heavily on these ‘strategic adds’ that Rosenthal mentions, and while we won’t know what those moves are until the deadline comes and goes, with a good, young lineup and three frontline starters, this is a team that could be in contention in the National League for years to come.
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